The Pentagon said Thursday it has not ruled out shifting part of its budget for rebuilding the military to fund President Trump’s new plan to send troops to secure the U.S. border with Mexico.
Its newly announced border security support cell was looking at different possible funding sources, including the military’s $238 billion pot of operations and maintenance money to pay for the deployment of National Guard troops, said Dana White, chief Pentagon spokeswoman.
The operations and maintenance money is a key part of the budget hike approved by Congress this year, after warnings from military leaders that the military was stretched dangerously thin. It pays for programs to prepare troops for war, such as flight training and equipment maintenance.
White was asked repeatedly about the money during a Pentagon press conference and said no decision on whether or not to tap into the operations and maintenance money had been made.
“I want to be clear: That is what the support cell is going to determine,” she said.
The Pentagon cell was created to coordinate plans with the Department of Homeland Security and governors in southern border states. Kenneth Rapuano, the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security, will chair the cell, but other members had not been named.
The cost of Trump’s border initiative is still unknown, and there was still no estimate on the number of troops who could be deployed to the Mexico border, where the White House says illegal immigration is causing a crisis.
Congress bumped up the operations and maintenance fund by $20 billion this year to help with what hawks on Capitol Hill have called a military readiness crisis. It was part of a budget cap deal that gives the Pentagon its largest year-to-year budget increase in 15 years.
Two past deployments of Guard troops to the border under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama together cost $1.3 billion and lasted for three years, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Trump signed a memorandum Wednesday directing the deployment to counter a “dramatic surge” in illegal activity on the Mexico border.
“The combination of illegal drugs, dangerous gang activity, and extensive illegal immigration not only threatens our safety but also undermines the rule of law,” Trump wrote. “Our American way of life hinges on our ability as a nation to adequately and effectively enforce our laws and protect our borders.”
White said the military is working out how to support the president’s plan but also will remain focused on rebuilding its forces, which have been depleted by capped budgets and constant operations around the world.
“Border security is national security and we are leaning forward to support the president and his intent and his goal. But readiness remains our top priority. The secretary believes that this needs to be the most lethal force in the world,” White said. “So, yes, I can assure you that our resources will still be dedicated to ensuring that our warfighters get what they need when they need it.”
